Chewing Through The Wire
by trinkethoarder
Summary: A Dramione story based in their '8th year'. Inspired by the song Skinny Genes by Eliza Doolittle. "You still have that same egotistical, arrogant, pig-headed, and might I add, wrong stance then. I have to say that I really don't like your point of view, I never have. You are a giant arse, and I just know that you will never change!" Rated M for language in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1 - Going Back Home

Hermione took a deep breath, calming herself before swiftly walking towards the barrier at Kings Cross Station, welcoming her back into the wizarding world. It was the 21st August and she was travelling back to Hogwarts early along with a select few to finish putting the school back together after the final battle, only mere months ago.

After the Battle people needed time to heal, to reconnect, and find those lost loved ones. It had been hardest on her friends, Ron had lost a brother, and the way that George had taken Fred's' it seemed that he had lost two. Harry had flitted in and out of their lives, taking up residence at Grimmauld place now that it was no longer necessary for Order meeting to be held there. When Remus and Tonks died they left little Teddy Lupin in the care of his grandmother, Andromeda, however he was spending more and more time with the Weasley family. Teddy had taken rather a liking to Harry on the one occasion that they met, finding within his tiny little body to bring him out of his funk and the Weasley matriarch planned with Andromeda to get them to spend more time together as she was becoming more and more worried about his skinny form of the scraggly haired teen.

Hermione was battling her own demons though, as she was living in an empty shell of a home, her parents remaining in Australia with no memory of their only daughter. She could not bring herself to give them their memories back as she knew how disappointed and angry they would be with her, she preferred to think that they didn't know her at all than they knew her and didn't want her in their lives. So when she received her Hogwarts letter, she had proudly accepted her former head of house's invitation to complete her studies along with any other students that could not due to the regime of terror inflicted upon them over the past twelve months. In her letter she received a shiny red badge initialled with two golden letters 'HG'. Smiling initially that her initials matched that of the title she gladly took, she then began to cry as she no longer was able to share this time with her parents. However she pushed this thought to the back of her head and apparated to the burrow to show the Weasley clan and see who else had received a letter.

They all knew the pressure that rebuilding the school was getting too much for professor McGonagall and had been relieved when she had asked a large percentage of their fellow '8th year' students to return on shifts throughout the summer to aid the effort. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been asked to go for the first week after the battle, however she persuaded McGonagall to let her come at the end of the summer so she could settle herself in for the rest of the school year. Harry and Ron had accepted and spent the first seven day doing the heavy lifting, or levitating.

Looking around the platform Hermione noticed how strange the place looked when it was not overcrowded and bustling with families saying goodbye to their children. She had as always arrived early and the train wasn't even there yet. As many people had taken the end of the war as a chance to start anew, the express had added new stops en-route meaning that the train stopped for a shorter amount of time on platform 9 ¾ . As she was the first person on the station she took her trunk out of her bag (which was still under the undetectable extension charm), enlarged it and perched demurely on the edge looking towards the end of the platform where the train would arrive. She didn't have to wait soon before the bright red train barrelled through the arch screeching to a stop in front of her. Quickly reversing the spell she had earlier used on her trunk she stepped onto the engine very much grateful that she didn't trip on the stairs.

Before turning to head to the front of the train she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. 'That's strange' she thought to herself, as she swore there was no-one on the platform with her earlier.

The blonde man clad in skinny jeans and a hoodie also boarded to train, watching closely the movements of the brunette and her swaying hips.

**a/n this is inspired by the song Skinny Genes by Eliza Doolittle, all of the characters are not mine! All of them are owned by J.K .Rowling! **

**Thank you for reading**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Fresh Start

Hermione progressed to the front of the train towards the heads compartment, pondering whether her fellow head would be joining her for this journey, and who the elusive male could be. Her first thought was Ernie Macmillan, as he was very smart and had never been known to be too disruptive in lessons, or maybe a Ravenclaw like Terry Boot or Michael Corner as they were both also notoriously clever. What she wasn't expecting to see as she slid the door to the heads compartment was a dark skinned, brown eyed Slytherin staring back into her amber eyes. She blinked a few times, still frozen in the doorway wondering if she had come into the wrong compartment, she considered going back into the corridor to check but she knew deep down that she almost certainly was. After staring at each other for quite a while Blaise Zabini stood to his full height (which was almost a foot above her 5' 4" frame) and moved towards her with a smile tugging at his lips.

"You alright there Granger, or do you need me to pinch you? You are certainly not dreaming, or maybe you are, I don't know what you dream about." He said with a wink. Subconsciously she took a step back as he moved towards her only to find that the door to the compartment had closed when she walked in. Looking a bit put out Blaise stepped towards her again and stretched out his hand. Hermione automatically flinched; the war had changed her instincts and an internal battle was raging between her inner warrior who told her to stun now and ask questions later, and her conscious telling her that he would never hurt her, especially not if he was Head boy.

"Good lord Granger, I'm not going to hurt you." Blaise grumbled as his palm flattened and he offered her his hand to shake. Hermione was bought out of her thoughts to see Blaise still stood in front of her, knowing that she had been staring at him like a deer caught in headlights for too long she was about to move when he spoke again more softly. "I thought that as we would be working together this year you should be the first to know how much has changed in my life after the war. Although I never truly believed in all of that Pureblood nonsense, I said what I had to to fit in and I am sorry for what happened. There was no excuse but I am hoping I can make it up to you and one day we can be friends."

The look on Hermione's face softened and she unpeeled herself from the door, reaching out her hand to meet his, shaking it firmly.

"I'm sorry Zabini; I just wasn't expecting to see you in here." She paused letting go of his hand and reaching unknowingly to scratch the scar on her arm that was partly uncovered by her rolled up jumper. "I'm sure that all everyone wants to do is put the past behind them and to start again. I look forward to working with you."

She moved forward and took a seat on the bench opposite Zabini's things and pulled a large tome from her beaded bag, not seeing the look of awe then amusement cross Zabini's face. Neither did she hear him murmur, "This is going to be an _interesting_ year", before he too settled himself down on his bench.

Hermione however wasn't reading the book lay open in front of her, even though she was pining to do so; her head was just swimming with thoughts. Of course Blaise Zabini was an equally good choice for head boy as the other candidates that she had first imagined, he was very smart, good at potions, and was even in the Slug-club with her in 6th year. He associated with Malfoy and his cronies but was never exceptionally mean or made a public scene in front of the teachers, additionally he had been neutral during the time of the war when his mother had taken him back to Italy to stay out of the Dark Lord's way. She decided that maybe having a Slytherin Head Boy wouldn't be so bad; they didn't even have to spend that much time together. Contempt in her thoughts, she was able to turn back to her very interesting book on the properties of common algae and their uses in the wizarding world which she would have to discuss fully with Neville when he returned to Hogwarts as well.

Suddenly the train jolted and began moving off; the long journey to Hogsmeade had begun.


	3. Chapter 3 - Point Of View

Less than an hour into the journey Blaise stood up and moved towards the door under Hermione's watchful eye, as if feeling her eyes on his back he turned to her, her cheeks blushing slightly as he caught her eyes moving over his figure.

"I'm just going to the loo; do you want anything from the trolley while I'm out there?" She shook her head in acknowledgement and he continued on his way out.

His departure triggered a thought in her head and she began to contemplate how much everyone had grown up. Although she had not grown in height, her body had filled out giving her an hourglass figure and with Ginny's help she had found ways to dress to accentuate this. Begrudgingly she had allowed the younger girl to bump up her wardrobe after all of the press attention any time they were out in public, and also gained a few beauty spells along the way helping her hair to become slightly less of a frizz ball. Harry and Ron had both shot up again and were about the same height as Zabini, however where Blaise was muscled and bulky, her best friends were lanky and skinny (surprisingly so seeing the amount they ate!) They both also accepted Ginny's help to add to their wardrobes, Harry edging towards the smarter end of the spectrum and Ron heading into the world or muggle printed shirts and jeans. Ginny herself had inherited the Weasley height, but countered her long athletic build with dresses, skirts and shorts never failing to look stunning.

Their relationships had grown with them, and all broken around the same time. Hermione and Ron tried to be more than friends, but after a few fumbles and many more fights they realised that transition would be very hard and a time of grieving was certainly not a time to try. They didn't rule out anything happening in the future, but decided to be friends for the foreseeable future. Ginny never really could get over the fact that Harry had left her behind at Hogwarts and had actually developed a rather strong crush on Neville Longbottom in his absence, which only Hermione knew about. The four were now quite happy being just close friends and spent a lot of time together when they could coax Harry from his life as a hermit.

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts when the door was roughly pulled open and someone threw themselves into the compartment slamming the door on the way. A tall, man stood facing out into the corridor, shielding his reflection so that Hermione could not see his face. He was wearing black skinny jeans that ended snugly over black converse shoes. At his waist a grey t-shirt was peeking out from underneath his black hoodie which was also tight fitting. From where she was sitting Hermione had a lovely view of the man's behind as she waited patiently for him to turn around and introduce himself. When it became apparent that he wasn't turning around anytime soon by resting his head on the screen covered window, Hermione took it upon her to make herself known.

Following a very impressive Umbridge impersonation the man whipped around grabbing his wand from his pocket and aiming it directly at Hermione's heart. A sharp intake of breath followed by both students in the compartment and the man lowered his wand, never breaking eye contact with Hermione.

"Why put the wand down Malfoy," she spat, "I'm sure you can find something in your arsenal suitable of a lowly Mu…" The rest of her sentence was muffled as Draco Malfoy dove forward to cover her mouth. Not two seconds later he leapt back shaking his hand as Hermione stifled a laugh, however quickly became dark again. "What was that for Ferret?" She asked angrily, as once again her hand travelled to the scar on her arm itching it nervously.

"After the war McGonagall wanted to stop all of the blood prejudice at Hogwarts, which I am all for by the way, oh don't look at me that way Granger. You don't know the hell my life has been having that disgusting excuse for a human being as a father. Anyway, words like the one you were about to say is Tabooed. I'm surprised you didn't know really" He trailed off looking intently at the welts on his hand caused by Hermione's teeth. "Merlin's beard you can't half bite either Granger" he muttered as he sat where Blaise had been only moments ago.

Hermione realised for the second time that morning that she had been sat silent for rather a long time, so looked up to him, "does this mean that the once high and mighty Draco Malfoy is not equal with everyone else?" She asked spitefully glaring daggers at the blonde.

A mix between a strangled laugh and a cough escaped his lips, "Not likely Granger, I'm quite obviously still more important than the lot of you." And then his long lost trademark smirk once again graced his lips.

"You still have that same egotistical, arrogant, pig-headed, and might I add, _wrong _stance then. I have to say that I really don't like your point of view, I never have. You are a giant arse, and I just know that you will never change!"


	4. Chapter 4 - Friends

Meanwhile in the corridor Blaise heard the commotion and quickened his pace, pulling the door to the compartment open to reveal Hermione and Draco sat on opposite sides both already half out of their seats with faces that would have made any first year wet themselves on the spot. Luckily he was not a first year and he strode in to the compartment as an eerie silence enveloped the trio, turning first to Hermione with an apologetic face he spoke softly, "I saw Loon- uh, I mean Luna just a minute ago sat in a compartment on her own…" He trailed off inclining his head slightly towards the door, and then fully turned to face Draco knowing that she would take any opportunity to leave an enclosed space with her enemy.

Reaching out for the door handle Hermione spun around; her hair springing out at all angles, glared at Malfoy then left the compartment storming down the corridor. After she left Blaise settled where she originally sat, fiddling with the strap of the headed bag she had left on the seat, an eyebrow raised and the hint of a smirk on his face. "So I see you met our new head girl, feisty isn't she?" He leant back into the seat stretching out his long legs studying his friends face. When Malfoy had still not spoken Blaise nudged his foot with his own and tried again, "What could you have possibly done to make her that angry? I was only gone five minutes."

"She thinks I am the same damn twat that I have been to her these last seven years," he looked around, anywhere but his friends gaze across from him, " Of course I don't believe any of this Pureblood crap anymore, you know that more than anyone, I had to stop _her_ from saying the M-word because of the Taboo. I mean surely it should be the other way around!" Blaise started sniggering to himself, especially as his friend was getting more annoyed as he did, he swore he even heard him growl.

"Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, if you want to get her to you as anything other than that twat, which you still are by the way mate, that you should try _being nice_ to her?" Malfoy screwed up his faced and finally locked eyes with his best friend.

"Unfortunately Blaise, there isn't a nice bone in my body, not everyone is able to shift all of their upbringing away as easily as you." He looked down, slightly embarrassed by his outburst. Blaise was one of the only people that knew about his life at Malfoy Manor; his lonely childhood, torturous adolescence, and The Dark Lord's holiday from hell.

"I know it's not something that you can switch on and off, but the amount of stick you are going to get this year, you might just need Hermione Granger as an advocate of you" Seeing the confused look on Draco's face he continued, "Not everyone will believe that you have changed, so maybe if you can convince the head boy and girl then more people will not hate you forever and hex you wherever you go? Doesn't that sound fun? Oh and I would be back before Granger is, I think the whole being nice thing should probably wait for another day!"

Draco picked himself up, readjusting his hoodie and left the compartment with a swift nod towards Blaise.

Due to the fact that there were only a few people on the Hogwarts express journey, the train had a reduced number of carriages, so finding Luna would be easy. Hermione halted for a second, annoyed with herself for not condoning Blaise's use of the nickname Loony, but assured herself that he knew better and it was probably just a slip of the tongue. Nodding to no-one in particular Hermione started checking the windows of compartments as she progressed from the front of the train, and sure enough she found Luna in the first compartment of the second car. She was reading the Quibbler upside down occasionally her line of vision drifting. At that very moment, like she had managed to sense Hermione's presence the blonde turned towards the door, her face lighting up seeing her friend.

Hermione opened the door as Luna got up, the two girls embracing having not seen each other since just after the battle. "It's so good to see you Hermione." Luna whispered airily, grasping Hermione's hand and pulling her down onto the cushioned seat next to her. Both girls sat down with one foot underneath them turning to face each other, still holding hands.  
"It's good to see you too Luna! How is your father?"

"Well after the final battle he got left out of Azkaban and we managed to fix the house, you know after the Death Eaters destroyed it." Hermione nodded encouraging her to continue, "well it's finished now and completely Nargle proof!" Seeming impressed with this Hermione smiled brightly at the ever eccentric girl. "What about you, how is Ron?" Hermione wavered, wondering whether or not to tell her friend the summer's events. Deciding to tell her she wriggled into her seat getting comfortable and reached up to re adjust her bag strap, when she realised that she had left it in the compartment with Zabini and Malfoy she cursed under her breath debating whether to go back for it or not. Deciding to stay with Luna she started to tell her all about her troubles that cropped up during her relationship with Ron, her worries about Harry being too withdrawn and how Ginny had revamped her wardrobe.


	5. Chapter 5 - If Only

Hermione looked out of the window to see that the scenery had dramatically changed, they were no longer near London, and it was clear they had crossed in to the wild Scottish countryside. Luna was still chatting away merrily, not noticing the distant look on Hermione's face; it was as if their roles had been reversed. Remembering that she would have to get her stuff from the heads compartment before getting off the train she audibly grunted, getting Luna's attention.  
"Sorry Luna, I really am, but I have some head business to attend to. I will see you when we get to the castle." Luna looked up at her, probably sensing her apprehension to go anywhere near Malfoy again. He really knew how to push her buttons.

"You know I think I saw Malfoy walk past a while ago" she whispered in a sing song voice,

"How the hell did you know that it was Malfoy I was avoiding Luna?" Hermione's mouth formed a small 'o' surprise etched to her face.

"Well, you are quite easy to read Hermione, but he was stood outside the door a while back looking at you. I thought that he was going to come in at one point. He really is quite good-looking isn't he?"

Hermione had to stop herself from saying something rude about Malfoy, but just smiled quietly and backed out of the door.

"See you later Luna" Luna watched as Hermione walked off towards the front of the train, a vacant expression on her face, and smiled to herself. Whether they knew it or not they were perfect for each other and she was going to help them see it. For the rest of the journey to Hogwarts Luna began scheming ways to get the two of them together and thinking of people that she could get to help her achieve this.

Hermione marched back down the train, all the while thinking over what Luna had said about Draco Malfoy. He was no longer the scrawny, little boy with hair too pale plastered to his head. The white blonde strands that fell from his dark hoodie were at a wonderful length, just long enough to hang casually but not long enough to interrupt his vision. It was the kind of hair a girl could only dream of reaching out to remove from his face. He had a good body; there was no disputing that, his angular features had filled out and he now had a toned physique that was intimidating at the least. She knew deep down that maybe she was attracted to him, but she blamed that on being cooped up all summer without meeting anyone else her age. The thing that got her though, and probably many others who fell hopeless at his feet, were his eyes. The steely grey pools would stare with a great power, when you were under his gaze it would feel as if they could bore deep into your soul, almost as if he could see the real you. Then there was his whole attitude, he just about managed to equal his good looks with his arrogance and hatefulness, ruining any chances that he had with many a 'good' girl. Hermione knew better than to be blinded by his charm and good looks, if there was ever one to stay away from it would be him.

She reached the heads compartment and entered, still caught up in her own thought, and sat down where she had earlier. She immediately jumped back up again when she sat on something that wasn't the bench. Turning around she found Blaise smirking up at her from her seat one hand resting lightly on her bag and the other reaching out to steady her as she fell over sideways. Eventually she managed to find her way to the bench opposite and raised an eyebrow to Blaise who was still smirking.

"You can come back and sit here if you want Granger, I mean sure I wasn't expecting things to move that fast, but if you want to go there. I'm all for it" he winked at her as she scrunched her face up in disgust, "There's no need to look so put out Granger, what is wrong with a dashing and charming young fellow like myself? Huh? Or are you saving yourself all for lover boy?" Her face paled as Blaise continued to smile at her.

"Wha.. I mean… I don't… Malf… uhhhh." By this point her cheeks were practically glowing a dark crimson and Blaise smirked once again eyes wide and shocked at her mumblings, it took a lot to make Hermione Granger speechless, and he had done it twice in one train journey. His inner Slytherin was singing with joy as the black mail options swam around his brain. He would have to handle this carefully, though it might be fun.

"I _was _talking about Ron, but if you would much rather do the dirty with my good friend Mr Draco Malfoy then, maybe I can help set that up…" He trailed off watching her face become even more radiant, he could almost hear the thoughts swimming around in her brain. Hermione on the other hand mentally slapped herself; of course he was talking about Ron. For a moment their eyes connected, hers radiated sheer panic and his calming confusion, at that moment he decided that he would help his new friend get what she wanted even if she didn't quite know it yet. "Don't worry Granger, I won't tell anyone about your little slip of the tongue. Run back to Weasley and keep your secret a secret." He looked away tossing her bag at her then got up and walked towards the door just as the train stopped.

"But Blaise," He turned back towards her as she finally got her voice back, "It's not like that, me and Ron, we… Well we broke up. We weren't right for each other, we're just friends."

"Oh, so you do want Malfoy then?" His smirk returned as she once again stumbled over her words.

"No, not reall… No. It was just something Luna said that's all. A slip of the tongue, like you said. Nothing behind it, no hidden meaning, no secret crush. Now excuse me I have to go and meet Professor McGonagall." He grabbed her arm spinning her around as they exited the compartment, dragging her behind him off the train ignoring her sounds of struggle, and linked arms with her.

"I think that you mean _we _have to go and see Professor McGonagall, Miss Head Girl." He strode out towards where the thestral drawn carriages were waiting for them and they started the final leg of their journey home.


	6. Chapter 6 - Relationships

It was a silent ride in the carriage to the castle, the wheels rattling along the track, the heads sitting opposite each other. It would seem that they would be spending rather a lot of time in close quarters over the course of the year so why not start now. There were a total of five carriages, one that the heads were in, one containing Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, and Michael Corner, another held Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom and oddly the Slytherin Theodore Nott. The final two carriages were filled with girls, Parvati and Padma Patil, Astoria Greengrass, Tracy Davis, Pansy Parkinson, and Hannah Abbot. As they came to a stop outside the castle Blaise kindly helped Hermione out of the carriage, an action which did not go unseen by others, mainly the gossip queen Patil sisters and a brooding blonde. There was a chorus of screams as the twins, Hannah, Hermione and Luna converged, hugging and complementing each other while the Slytherin girls stood to the side occasionally looking on with a condescending glance. Draco casually made his way over to Blaise as the Gryffindor boys clumped together with Michael and headed towards the girls to greet them after the summer. He saw Michael put his arms around Hannah spinning her around to kiss him, all of the girls letting out an audible sighs and the boys winking towards the couple as the separated and messing around with each other. The pair stayed close with their arms draped over one another, happily chatting with their friends as if they had not just got out of a huge war.

Draco turned back to Blaise, "Disgusting isn't it?" he said with a slight tone of amusement in his voice, "All the screaming and hugging and lovey dovey stuff." Just as Blaise was about to reply Pansy approached them her hand reaching out for Draco's arm, squeezing it gently and leaning up to whisper in his ear.

"Good thing we just cut the crap then isn't it babe." She slowly moved her head back, twisting his face with her hand to face him; his expression however was not what she had expected. Normally this sort of behaviour would have him smirking and pulling her to the nearest bedroom, broom cupboard or dark corner, however his face was dark and steely as he roughly pushed her arms away and looked straight at her. She let out a yelp and the other group of teens turned to watch the scene unfold.

"Parkinson, I don't like you. I never did. Nothing between us was real; I just needed a way to let out stress." Everyone around watched as she looked him in the face as if searching for an answer that she was not finding, but eventually gave up and started walking back towards Astoria. A few paces in she whirled around a sneer settling on her pug-face, she stormed back to him and lifted her arm to slap him. His reflexes were too fast though and he grabbed her hand. She was mumbling incoherently and all he heard was 'jerk', 'die', and 'marriage', while still holding her hand he pulled her closer. A softer tone took over his voice and he spoke directly to her, not to the group around that were still staring at the spectacle. "Look, we were never right for each other, it wasn't going anywhere. I'm just saving you more pain later, it's quite kind of me really, and you should be shaking my hand not slapping me with it. I want to start afresh after the war and maybe you should too." He let go of her hands, letting them drop to her sides, "Oh and Parkinson, tell your mother that I politely decline, I would like a few more years of bachelorhood." She nodded and walked back over to Astoria and Tracey she was putting on a brave face but he knew that he had broken her heart.

Scanning his eyes over to the other group stood outside the newly rebuilt school, he saw one pair of mahogany globes staring back at him, a concerned look on her face and her eyebrows furrowed. When she saw him looking Hermione turned back to the others, starting a conversation with Neville about a new strain of plants she had heard about. In that moment their eyes had locked she had felt as if he was telling the truth, that he really did want to start afresh and put the past behind him, the only problem is she really didn't believe him. She wanted to, who wouldn't want to just push the past back and start again especially after everything that happened during the war. Every time she thought like that though she was split into two, imagining how Harry and especially Ron would feel if she suddenly became friends with these people and another part of her just couldn't let go of all the years of torment. She was going to have a hard enough time persuading them that Blaise was good even if he was head boy; there was no reason to add Draco Malfoy to the equation. Maybe one day they could move forward, but that day would have to wait until he had proven that he wanted to change.

Draco turned back to Blaise just as the grand front doors to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry were flung open and a very flustered looking Professor McGonagall stepped out silencing the crowd around with a single bespectacled glare. Blaise and Hermione stepped forward as she began to speak.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Heads

"Good morning students and welcome back to Hogwarts, I firstly want to thank you all for coming to help rebuild what for some of you can only be described as home, as you can see we are in the final stages of putting the school back together after a tremendous amount of help from the wizarding community. We will pair everyone up and you will be assigned to a team along with a member of staff and some other volunteers, luckily all of the dormitories are complete so you will all be able to stay in those. We are due to be complete within the next few days before the students arrive, you may be asked by teachers to personally help them with their own classrooms and I strongly advise you to do so. And finally, before we go inside, I think that congratulations are in order for our new Head Boy and Head Girls; Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood." Loud applause and cheering could be heard from everyone but the Slytherin's who stood and demurely clapped, mainly out of respect. "Now, I would like to speak to the new heads, but everyone else I trust you will be able to find your way to the library where Mr Filch" McGonagall paused to roll her eyes "will assign you to your teachers."

Hermione turned to Luna, mouth open and eyes wide, she had known that there would be a girl in the year below who was a Head as well because technically both years were in their last year. Then it all clicked into place, Luna was a Ravenclaw, Blaise was a Slytherin, she was a Gryffindor. That meant that the other Head Boy would be a Hufflepuff. Luna just turned to her and whispered "I'll talk to you later; right now I think McGonagall is trying to talk." Blaise was completely unfazed by the situation and was looking at the Headmistress expectantly.

As Draco passed Blaise he clapped him on the shoulder and risked a look at Hermione, nodding to her and Luna, as she caught his eye. The rest of the teenagers followed him inside smiling at Hermione and nodding at Blaise, she realised that he had managed to stay popular throughout the war. She now saw why McGonagall chose him for the Head Boy, he was a Slytherin and together they represented house unity which was always a big factor in bullying and rivalries. He was smart and talented; he did well in school, and was loved by teachers and students alike. Before she knew it McGonagall was talking again. "We thought that after the war we would start to change a few things around here, mainly to incorporate the muggle world more. Times are changing and we must change with them. Academically speaking muggle studies will be compulsory to all students from first years until you complete your NEWT's." Both students nodded silently agreeing with the older witch. "On a more personal level, muggle technology such as mobile phones and iPod's will be permitted within the grounds and may be used anytime apart from during class. I have personally created a magical network that will allow the use of these electrical items, similar to the way that the radios here run. I will only have to cast a quick and simple incantation on the items and then they will run without charging throughout the course of the year." Hermione had an astounded look on her face as she knew how the magic affected the use of muggle electrical devices, it must have taken rather an effort to create that kind of strong magic. At that point McGonagall turned towards Hermione, "As you did not know of this before coming I am giving you the chance to go back home before school begins, you may take the carriages or walk to Hogsmeade and apparate from there."

"Thank you professor. Would it be possible to also bring a television, I have one in my room at home?" Hermione asked, inquisitive as ever.

"Ah, I thought you may ask that. Well, seeing as you are the Heads some perks should be given, should the not? That will be acceptable Miss Granger; you may place it in your room or common room that is your choice." Looking back over the group she concluded her talk, "That brings me onto my final point. Whilst rebuilding the school it was decided that the Heads would have a separate dormitory to the rest of the houses, somewhere where they are able to study, Meet with prefects and socialise privately. This does however mean that you will have more responsibility and should make sensible use of these privileges. There _will _be a few rules; they are on the notice board in the common room." All three students nodded eagerly, excited to see the new common room. "Okay, I think it is time for you to see your new home." She smiled and led the way into the castle, through the entrance hall to the staircases and all the way up to the fifth floor. She passed the prefects bathroom and turned to a plain brick wall, she ran her wand down the wall leaving a trail of magic which turned into a set of large double doors coloured silver, gold, bronze and black carved into intricate patterns. She murmured a quiet spell and waved her arms in a very extravagant way as she pushed open the doors into the Heads suite.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Heads Suite

Chapter eight – The Heads Suite

The three teenagers followed her into a large inviting room that was lavishly decorated. Directly opposite them was a fire crackling in an exposed brick fireplace, above which a large version of the Hogwarts crest was hung. In front of the fire there was a crescent of sofas and chairs, plenty to seat at least ten people, situated around a coffee table piled with magazines and books. There was a door just to the right and to the left of the fire place, one labelled 'PREFECTS' and the other was just plain wooden door. The wall to the right was panelled with a light wood, with stripes of yellow and black closest to them changing to a green and silver at the other end, and the wall to the left was the same but with red and gold, changing to a blue and bronze. The four doors that would be the bedrooms were all embossed with a set of initials and were very expressive of their houses. The Slytherin door was for Blaise and elaborate silver serpents wove into a 'B' and a 'Z', opposite this the door to Hermione's room had a gold plaque with the bold initials 'H G'. Down from Hermione a rather plain looking door with a simple bronze and blue lettering stated that 'L L' would be residing within, and finally the mystery Hufflepuff had an elegantly lettered yellow 'Z S' on a plain and sturdy looking black door.

After standing still for a while taking in the grandeur of the room Hermione and Blaise rushed in towards their own rooms. Opening her door the first thing Hermione noticed was the plush carpet lining the floor, she could definitely get used to waking up to that over the cold stone floors of the dormitories. On the left wall was a large cherry wood wardrobe and chest of drawers, fitting snugly into the corner of the lilac coloured walls. A large four poster bed covered in a thick duvet of luscious browns and creams adorned the middle of the wall was littered with brown and purple cushions and guarded by two matching cherry wood bedside tables. Her feet directed her around the bed towards the window. The window was framed by bookcases that decorated the whole wall; she carefully ran her hand along the spines of the books. There was muggle, magical, fiction, non-fiction, from Jane Austin to Advanced Potions for the Graduate to Beauty Charms for the young Witch. Upon reaching the end of the bookshelf she reached another door, on the wall she had presumed she shared with Luna.

Opening the door she saw Luna at an identical door across the room staring back at her. The room was in fact a bathroom, a very feminine bathroom at that. There was a large swimming pool style bath much like the ones in the prefect's bathrooms with a small and elegant sofa at the foot of it. Two vanity tables with large mirrors stood on the wall to Hermione's right, one with her toiletries on it and the other she assumed to be Luna's. Her conclusion was confirmed by the bottles of homemade treatments and salves labelled with her distinctive script. The girls took one look at each other and rushed past to get a look into the others room. Hermione had a shock when she entered the room, her eyes assaulted by the bright colours from the orange walls and yellow carpet to the pink rugs and blue and purple window seat that lined the whole of the wall. Her bed was unique, a circular mattress in one corner with pillows and cushions of every colour under the sun scattered haphazardly on it. There was even two chairs and a coffee table with a teapot on it, her room was certainly cozy and happy, a great reflection of Luna as a person, she could see her living happily there.

Wandering back to her own room Hermione spotted Luna sat in a hanging chair she had completely missed in her haste to see her book shelf. Looking around she could see that the chair was not the only thing that she had missed, there was a desk with a high backed chair perfect for working at, a chest at the end of her bed with a cushioned top, and a space opposite her bed that her TV would fit in.

The girls left the bedrooms and walked back out into the main living room. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them by the doors and before they had a chance to look into the other rooms she called them all back. "All right you will all be able to explore more later, but for now we have a job to do. I would like you three to go and help out the team that is working in the kitchens along with the house elves" she ignored any signs of contest from Hermione and ushered them from the common room, "I expect that you know your way Miss Granger, I will see you at dinner in the great hall." She bustled off in the opposite direction the teenagers were taking, her robes swirling behind her in an almost Snape like way.  
"Does anyone know who the other head boy is?" Hermione asked, falling into step with Blaise and Luna.  
"Well," started Luna, "there is one person from each house, two from your year and two from mine, and the initial on the door were ZS," Luna stopped, turning to stare up towards the ceiling, "There is rather an abundance of Nargles down this corridor, you should watch out that your things don't get stolen." Blaise looked at her eyes wide, not yet accustomed to her unusual ways but a hint of admiration was on his face as she skipped back towards them, cork necklace bouncing and radish earrings swinging.

"I think what miss Lovegood is insinuating is that our new head boy is a Hufflepuff in her year with the initials ZS, and that could only be me," A handsome looking blonde man stepped out from behind a suit of armour, leaning on the wall just ahead of them. "Zacharias Smith, Hufflepuff, 7th year, Head boy"


End file.
